When I think about the Waterfield Travel Express, my day-to-day bag for the last two weeks, the first thing that comes to mind is “trusty”. I’m a gadget lover at heart and so I’m already prone to falling for inanimate objects, but there’s something else about this little American-made bag that this Canadian finds ridiculously charming.
My Travel Express is a black nylon pouch with a dark green band (there are other colours available) that adds just enough non-black to keep the design from being boring. The TravEx isn’t high fashion by any means, but it’s a light bag that can meld into most any environment, short of black tie events.
I wouldn’t count on the bag to keep contents dry in a storm, but it is a little weather resistant, and made of highly durable “ballistic nylon”. There isn’t much in the way of padding aside from the nylon, but a set of flat boards embedded length-wise into the bag do provide a buffer against minor impacts (like accidentally banging into a door).
By default, the TravEx is really just a zippered pouch that you stick into a larger bag, but I would highly recommend spending the extra $22 or so to add a suspension sleeve. This turns the TravEx into something flexible enough to take your iPad, wireless keyboard, pen and hipster notebook, and iPhone…all without weighing you down during an afternoon walk. The suspension strap also features a handy rubberized shoulder pad that keeps the TravEx from swinging around like a trapeze artist while you try to tie your shoes, or open a car door.
The TravEx opens up horizontally and then vertically, allowing for a lot of flexibility when placing or removing your gear. Items like my iPad and iPhone slip very easily into the specialized pockets with just the top open, but larger items like my Wireless Keyboard require me to unzip the side as well.
I like to hang theTravEx from my right side with the Waterfield logo facing away from me. The single zipper design and the placement of the logo on only one side let me instantly identify what orientation my bag is in, so it’s easy to reach right into it without having to look.
This is really one of the strongest points of the TravEx: accessibility. Not only is the main compartment easy to open, but each of the four types of pockets within has a different feel to it, as well. The iPad pocket is large and slim and lined with microsuede, the two smaller suede pockets beside it are thin and elastic, and the two microsuede pockets feel like little pillow pockets when you reach into them. The largest compartment, the one that houses items like my keyboard, is easy to identify by its size and the fact that it’s right in the center of the bag.
What all of that gushing really comes down to is that the TravEx is a bag that you can very quickly come to know by feel, which makes it much more of a large, extended pocket, rather than a bag you have to fuss around with. The TravEx should also be treated more like a pocket: it doesn’t seem to be meant for items that are much thicker than the iPad, and so daily commuters looking to house a water bottle or umbrella inside their bags should look elsewhere.
However, all of the other smaller pieces of gear that you want to carry with your iPad should fit very nicely into this excellent little travel bag – and for $69 (plus $22 for the suspension strap), I can’t think of a better way to tote your iPad around.
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The Travel Express was provided by Watefield Designs for review on iSource. For further information regarding our site’s review policies, please see the “About” page.
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